| December 31, 1880 | | Born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania |
| September 1897-June 1901 | | Cadet, Virginia Military Institute (Lexington, Virginia) |
| September-December 1901 | | Commandant, Danville Military Institute (Danville, Virginia) |
| February 2, 1902 | | Commissioned second lieutenant |
| February 11, 1902 | | Married to Elizabeth Carter ("Lily") Coles |
| May 1902-November 1903 | | Duty in the Philippine Islands |
| December 1903-August 1906 | | Duty at Fort Reno, Oklahoma |
| August 1906-June 1910 | | Army Service Schools, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Student (1906-8); Instructor (1908-10) |
| March 1907 | | Promoted to first lieutenant |
| June 1911-September 1912 | | Inspector-Instructor, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia (Boston) |
| September 1912-June 1913 | | Duty with 4th Infantry (Fort Logan Roots, Arkansas; Fort Snelling, Minnesota; Texas City, Texas) |
| August 1913-May 1916 | | Duty in the Philippine Islands |
| July 1916 | | Promoted to captain |
| July 1916-July 1917 | | Aide-de-camp to J. Franklin Bell (San Francisco, California; Governors Island, New York) |
| July 1917-April 1919 | | Duty with the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I), France (Temporary promotions: major, August 1917; lieutenant colonel, January 1918; colonel, August 1918) |
| May 1919-June 1924 | | Aide-de-camp to John J. Pershing (France and Washington, D.C.) |
| July 1920 | | Promoted to major |
| August 1923 | | Promoted to lieutenant colonel |
| September 1924-May 1927 | | Duty with 15th Infantry (Tientsin, China) |
| July-October 1927 | | Instructor, Army War College (Washington, D.C.) |
| September 15, 1927 | | Death of Elizabeth C. ("Lily") Marshall |
| November 1927-June 1932 | | Assistant commandant, Infantry School Fort Benning, Georgia |
| October 15, 1930 | | Married Katherine Tupper Brown |
| June 1932-June 1933 | | Commanding Fort Screven, Georgia, and CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) District |
| June-October 1933 | | Commanding Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, and CCC District |
| September 1933 | | Promoted to colonel |
| October 1933-October 1936 | | Senior Instructor, Illinois National Guard (Chicago) |
| October 1936-June 1938 | | Vancouver Barracks, Washington, and CCC District |
| October 1936 | | Promoted to brigadier general |
| July-October 1938 | | Assistant chief of staff, War Plans Division, War Department (Washington, D.C.) |
| October 1938-June 1939 | | Deputy chief of staff, War Department (Washington, D.C.) |
| July 1-September 1, 1939 | | Acting chief of staff |
| September 1, 1939 | | Promoted to major general (Regular Army) and (4-star) general (temporary) |
| September 1939-November 1945 | | Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (Washington, D.C.) |
| December 1944 | | Promoted to General of the Army (temporary) |
| November 1945-January 1947 | | Special representative to China |
| April 1946 | | Promoted to General of the Army (permanent) |
| January 1947-January 1949 | | Secretary of State |
| October 1949-November 1950 | | President of American Red Cross |
| September 1950-September 1951 | | Secretary of Defense |
| June 1953 | | U.S. Delegation to Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain |
| December 10, 1953 | | Received Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, Norway |
| October 16, 1959 | | Died at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, D.C. (Buried in Arlington National Cemetery) |
